Using Art As A Catalyst For Interdisciplinary Learning

...In this thesis, I examine how an elementary visual arts curriculum has the potential to ba a catalyst for changing the views of art education by addressing how art is perceived in my school culture, and the role art plays across the curicullum as part of the holitistic mission of my school district...

This collection of perspective pieces and conference notes articulates concerns addressed at the Fourth National Invitational Conference, "Achieving National Education Reform: Art Education as Catalyst" (San Francisco, California, February 4-6, 1993). Six essays include: (1) "Education Reform in and through the Arts" (Gordon M. Ambach); (2) "Understanding Cultural Diversity through Arts Education" (Vada E. Butcher); (3) "Equity and Access through Arts Education" (Michael Greene); (4) "The Language of Technology Is the Language of the Arts" (Nancy Hechinger); (5) "The Challenge from Business to Arts Education" (William H. Kolberg); and (6) "The Challenge of Political Priorities to Arts Education" (William W. Staton). Session topics summarized are: "Education Reform in and through the Arts"; "Strong Arts, Strong Schools"; "Challenges Facing Arts Education"; "The Language of Technology Is the Language of the Arts"; "Arts Education as a Catalyst to Reform"; "Arts Education Partnership Working Group"; "Art Education's Value in Interdisciplinary Learning"; "Education Reform and Assessment in the Arts"; Understanding Cultural Diversity through Arts Education"; and "Equity and Access through Arts Education." A conference summation, final words, a discussion of the recommendations of the arts education partnership working group, and a list of the advisory committee conclude the work. (MM)

This handbook provides teachers with a framework for implementing inquiry-based, substantive art integration across the curriculum, along with the background knowledge of models needed to do this. Drawing on ideas from Harvard Project Zero, the authors make a clear and compelling argument for how contemporary art supports student learning. The text features subject-specific chapters co-written by teaching scholars from that discipline. Each chapter includes examples of contemporary art with explanations of how these works explore the fundamental concepts of the academic discipline. The book concludes with a chapter on an integrated, inquiry-based curriculum inspired by contemporary art, including guidelines for developing art projects teachers can adapt to their students' interests and needs. This resource is appropriate for art teachers, as well as subject-area teachers who are not famililar with using contemporary art in the classroom.

This text demonstrates the power of the arts to inform and ignite interdisciplinary learning. Based on the Curriculum Seminars this book is an example of what can happen when teachers and students engage in real conversations about effective learning and teaching.

The authors present works of art, artmaking skills, and ways of knowing as catalysts for learning across the traditional disciplinary boundaries in high school. Both timely and enduring, this is the book that will inspire and support the work of veteran, new, and pre-service high school art teachers. The book includes issues, theories, and practices related to high school curriculum, advocacy, classroom management, assessment, cultural understanding, idea-based instructional strategies, team-teaching, technology, visual culture, and student-initiated learning. The authors draw upon their own experiences and those of other high school art teachers to create a motivating and provocative text that challenges readers to critically and continually reflect, collaborate, read, and research their own interdisciplinary thinking, teaching, and learning processes. - Publisher.

This book is about interdisciplinary approaches to art education. The concept of interdisciplinary learning is one that should be scrutinized closely and research and practical applications are needed to inform the field about best practices. This book contains both theoretical concepts and practical suggestions for curriculum construction and assessment for interdisciplinary education that incorporate the visual arts as good and worthwhile, while at the same time, proposing ways in which art can be integrated holistically with other subjects. In addition, there are a variety of research methodologies found in the different chapters and a range of subjects, such as science, social studies, anthropology, and the performing arts, for which interdisciplinary concepts have been applied effectively and appear to be coherent, complete, and appropriate.